Wal-Mart Entertains a Pitch: 'Made in U.S.A.'

Some Manufacturers See Opportunity in Opening State-Side Factories

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has long lured Americans with a cornucopia of low-cost merchandise from overseas, ranging from softball bats made in China to candles from Vietnam.

For the past nine months, however, Wal-Mart has been trumpeting patriotic promises to stock more U.S.-made goods. Manufacturing means "good middle-class jobs, and that's exactly what our country needs," said Bill Simon, chief executive of Wal-Mart's U.S....